Last week I was talking with a client who recently took a position at a new company. The new company was in the same industry that they’d worked in before. They were concerned about the lack of growth and poor revenue numbers for the product lines they managed. After some lengthy discussion it became apparent that nothing was wrong with their marketing tactics. In fact, they were implementing the tactics & programs that had previously driven growth.

The issue is a strategic one. The company wasn’t positioned in a way that allowed them to differentiate from the competition. They didn’t have a unique narrative that would persuade customers to choose them over the competition. They weren’t the cheapest, and they weren’t the biggest. They were a “me too” firm and had to work way too hard to win business. In their current incarnation, there wasn’t anything unique about them.

The reality is that the only way they can succeed in their crowded marketplace is to re-orient their company. This means new messaging, but also operational changes that will re-inforce that message. And these changes are the real key to whether, or not they succeed. This is a big challenge for them. The marketing team has to drive major changes in the organization in order for their message to stick in the minds of their customers. They have to convince the internal skeptics that the risk in changing is worth it, and the risk in not changing is even greater.

Often you’ll see a company re-brand and introduce a new message, but that’s all that changes. This is great for the advertising company that charged for the re-brand, but it doesn’t mean the company lives up to the message. And if the company doesn’t meet the expectations of their messaging then consumers will see right through it.

It’s that time of year again. Time to fire up the yule log, cook up some latkes, and chow down on some fruit cake. And in the holiday spirit let’s all gather round to listen to the timeless animated musical stylings of our very own Creative Director Jason Buff.

Jason recorded this track out of his home studio (distorting his voice to squirrel like registers), and then created & animated the squirrel of his holiday dreams.

Click Below to View the 2008 NeboWeb Holiday Greeting & We Hope You Enjoy:

http://www.neboweb.com/holiday08/

As a kid in the late 1980’s & early 1990’s — I was a fanatical reader of popular mechanics magazine. And every single year they promised that a flying car was just around the corner. Moller was usually the manufacturer mentioned, but now it that a company called Terrafugia is launching the Transition — AKA the flying car.

I have to say that those vaporware moller’s looked a heck of a lot cooler than this bastardized vehicle. For some reason this plane/car hybrid reminds me of the old boat/car hybrid of the 1950’s, the Amphicar.

It seems that what’s true of the web is also true of motorized vehicles. It’s much easier to focus on doing one thing really well, than seamlessly mashing together two seperate concepts into a single successful product.

The first thing I’d like to mention is how grateful I am to work with such talented and wonderful people.  Many of you have worked at NeboWeb for a number of years.  Many of you have seen me at my most challenging moments.  Many of you have seen me get frustrated.  Many of you have seen me exhilarated.  And many of you have weathered the good times and bad times, not only as co-workers, but as friends, and for this I am extremely grateful.

I have made mistakes.  We all have – and I have definitely made my share.  The point is that even in the most challenging circumstances, whether it be people we trust, depend on, need - sometimes leaving to new positions, our personal lives hitting bumps in the road, the incredibly tough economy and its impact, client drama & tribulations, etc.   I know that even despite my mistakes we have a rock – a foundation – something that grounds me – that grounds us – something that is more than just a job…

NeboWeb wasn’t started so Adam and I could make obscene profit.  NeboWeb wasn’t started because we simply wanted to have our own business.  NeboWeb wasn’t started because of ego or because we thought we were smarter than everyone else.

NeboWeb started in a tough, competitive market – Web design, Web development - Search.  We were advised not to start a Web agency – there was incredible competition already out there and we wouldn’t be able to stand out or much less differentiate.  Whether the competition was Avenue A, 360i, someone’s uncle’s brother’s kid, etc - we were told not to be foolish.  We were told that we would need investors.  We were told that we should just get or stay at our day jobs and be safe and secure.  We were told that agencies didn’t start with a vision like ours.  We were told not to try.

But… we thought there was a better way.  A better way to serve clients.  A better way to treat employees.  A better way to blend work and life.  A better way to view the world.  Life is too short to be unhappy at your job.  Life is too short to do bad work.  Life is too short to have to look back with regrets.  Life is too short to stare at yourself in the mirror and say I short-changed this client, I didn’t try hard enough, I didn’t give my all, I took shortcuts on this project to make a measly 5% more profit and in the end didn’t really even help them meet their goals or objectives.

We started with a simple, but powerful foundation.  If we made our clients successful, we too would be successful.  It’s that simple.  Hard work, transparency, incredible creative, great search results, love - - -  all stemmed from that simple concept.  If we made our clients and stakeholders successful - we too would be successful.  This includes employees, family, friends, clients, vendors – each person or entity we interact with.  We simply want people to be better for knowing us than for not.

If we can look in the mirror and know that we have made a positive impact on everyone we know then we’ve truly been successful.  That is power.  That is true power.  Can you imagine?  That is remarkable.  That is happiness.  That is success.  That is NeboWeb…

Thank you all for coming and being part of the NeboWeb family.  Happy holidays and have fun and be safe tonight.  Remember, NeboWeb loves you…

NeboWeb has once again been recognized as a “Top 10 SEO Company” by Promotion World for the month of December.  By making this list again, it marks our 7th consecutive month of being recognized as one of the industry’s best search engine optimization agencies. 

Just like in previous months, NeboWeb would like to express our gratitude to Promotion World for honoring us, as well as extend our thanks to our talented and enthusiastic SEO team, and especially to all of our clients for their teamwork and collaboration!

It was a normal day at NeboWeb – making clients happy, doing amazing work, changing the interactive space as we know it and then something different happened.   Heather saw that a dog was staring in the door.  Being a loving, caring person – and animal lover, Heather, Kimm, and 3-4 others went outside to try to help the poor and lonely dog.  As soon as they went outside it went to hide under a car as it was obviously scared as it simply didn’t look like a stray does, but rather a lost dog who was trying to find its owner or way home.   Kimm was able to coax her out with peanut butter and crackers and Heather asked Brian, NeboWeb’s CEO, “What should we do with her?”

He replied that we should take her to the nearby humane society and have her scanned for a chip in case the owner had simply lost her.  Brian also has a dog and remarked how panicked he would be if he lost Terminator (his ferocious black cocker spaniel).  If she didn’t have a chip, he told Heather to tell the Humane Society to give her an exam, shots, etc. and he would pay for it and then figure out what to do.  Once they took her there, the humane society people were taken back. Some guy had tried to drop her off 15 minutes before and they were full, so they gave him an address of a nearby shelter.

Instead, this heartless person simply kicked her out of his car and left her in the midtown Atlanta to fend for herself.  Before he abandoned her, he told them that she was a 7 month old American Staffordshire Terrier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Staffordshire_Terrier) and that she was too big for his apartment. Thankfully she wandered over to our office and we saved her.

Once the team got to know her, everyone simply loved her. She was so sweet and just wanted to be loved.  So Brian took her to his vet and got all of her shots, etc. and took her home to meet Terminator.   The two dogs vied for hierarchy, but now are like brother and sister and NeboWeb currently has two company dogs.

And for those wondering why she was named Cami – it’s actually short for Cameron (her official name), which just happens to be the name of the female terminator in the new television series.  Like we said, Cami  and Terminator are brother and sister, even in a cyborg kind of way.

NeboWeb would like to wish everyone, especially our clients, employees, vendors, families, and friends, a happy Thanksgiving!   We hope that everyone is enjoying great food & drink, spending time with family and friends, relaxing, watching football, and having a great holiday.

NeboWeb has a lot to be thankful for.  We have wonderful clients.  We have talented, driven, and loyal employees.  We have been given amazing opportunities to work on exciting projects.  We are honored and thankful for the opportunity to work with each of you.

Have a happy and safe holiday weekend and thank you again for allowing us to be part of your lives.

The NeboWeb team keeps getting exciting news and that trend continues this month.  We are ecstatic to report that the team has been honored by Promotional World by being named on their “Top 10 SEO Companies” list for the month of November, which is our sixth consecutive month on this prestigious list.  NeboWeb is very grateful to receive awards of this caliber and it reinforces our values and our dedication to the search engine marketing industry.

NeboWeb would like to express our appreciation and gratitude to Promotional World for honoring us once again, as well as to our enthusiastic SEO team and clients for all of their great work!

The NeboWeb team is thrilled to be recognized once again on Promotional World’s “Top 10 SEO Companies” list for the month of October. This is an amazing accomplishment for us because this is NeboWeb’s fifth consecutive month on the distinguished list. Since June 2008 we have been recognized for our dedication to our clients and to the Search Engine Optimization industry.
 
Our enthusiastic SEO team consists of dedicated, expert, and creative members that continuously strive to exceed our clients’ expectations. We believe that when NeboWeb succeeds it’s because of our amazing connection and communication between our team and our clients. We make this top priority and it pays off…as you can see!

We at NeboWeb would like to thank Promotional World for the recognition in the past five months as well as our clients for everything have done and what they are continuing to do to help us grow as a successful company.
 
Congratulations to our amazing team and clients for the exceptional work!